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Microsoft Confirms Multi-Touch Zune HD to Compete Against iPod Touch
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who cares?
Will it run MacOS? Obviously not, so who cares
MS doesn't understand, the problem is the OS
But it is still ugly!
Will it run MacOS? Obviously not, so who cares
MS doesn't understand, the problem is the OS
But it is still ugly!
Every Zune that has a beginning, has an end.
See those little screws in the back.. when its been in your sweaty pocket a while, over and over again.. they'll fall out..
Even in a protective bag or whatever, synergy, handling of the device or whatever with cause them to unscrew..
Byt he time they release it it will be passe'.. iPod will have moved on to include a camera and possible magnetometer to support Google mapping apps.
When you have a neanderthall at the helm, you get stonage products.
Now come on, that doesnt make sense at all. The iphone has two screws at the bottom and they dont just fall out now do they?
Agreed. Keep Apple on their toes. There's more than one way to make these things. They'll have a difficult time catching Apple leads. So far the Zune has been a bomb so marketing-wise that's a negative. Even if it was a superior product it may not sell well because of past market performance.
It will depend on the codec but, yes, HD content will be very heavy. If it were hard disk based (HD?
) then maybe it would be acceptable.
Honestly this looks pretty cool. They've finally shown a Zune that is actually pretty neat, especially the Xbox integration. That's going to be key here - the Xbox integration. That's one trick Apple can't really match. Let's face it - the Xbox 360 has a MUCH larger install base than the Apple TV, and is more powerful to boot.
That being said, there are still unknowns, like how well the SDK will compete with the iPhone's, and what the built-in software is going to be like. Odds are they'll just copy Apple for the latter. But the former is going to be very important.
For now, I'm happy to stick with my iPod touch. Microsoft has a very, VERY, VERY VERY VERY long way to go to prove itself with the Zune. Seriously, there's a glimmer of hope for them here but right now that's all it is. The iPod Touch and iPhone are still the go-to players and with over 37M units out there they have a LOT of momentum. It's going to take a huge amount of work for MS to overcome that momentum.
Ah, competition is fun.
That being said, there are still unknowns, like how well the SDK will compete with the iPhone's, and what the built-in software is going to be like. Odds are they'll just copy Apple for the latter. But the former is going to be very important.
For now, I'm happy to stick with my iPod touch. Microsoft has a very, VERY, VERY VERY VERY long way to go to prove itself with the Zune. Seriously, there's a glimmer of hope for them here but right now that's all it is. The iPod Touch and iPhone are still the go-to players and with over 37M units out there they have a LOT of momentum. It's going to take a huge amount of work for MS to overcome that momentum.
Ah, competition is fun.
Joke
I think Microsoft is embarrassing themselves with this Zune thing. I kind of showing the impotence of the company. I seriously don't understand why would anyone buy a Zune over the iPods.
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I think Microsoft is embarrassing themselves with this Zune thing. I kind of showing the impotence of the company. I seriously don't understand why would anyone buy a Zune over the iPods.
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Apple did not invent multi touch, they only hold patents on their certain implementations of multitouch.
Hmmm
I personally don't like the looks of it if that is the real thing and I don't like the look of the Zune interface either. Fonts too big...just ugly.
If it has an fm radio, great, but who listens to radio? Maybe sometimes...
Then again, rumor has been that the broadcom chip slated for the next iPhone has a built-in fm radio that can send and receive fm signal. So, maybe you will be able to send music directly to your car radio without an accessory (but would kill accessory sales). Actually, it's interesting that last years iPod touches which had built-in support for Nike+ communicate over FM. So, there's already an FM receiver in the iPod Touch.
As for the OLED screen, rumors all over the place are that the next iPhone will have an OLED screen!
All rumors, but as many people have said, don't compare the specs of a not yet released product to a nearly one year old product. The new stuff is coming REALLY SOON! Yay!
I personally don't like the looks of it if that is the real thing and I don't like the look of the Zune interface either. Fonts too big...just ugly.
If it has an fm radio, great, but who listens to radio? Maybe sometimes...
Then again, rumor has been that the broadcom chip slated for the next iPhone has a built-in fm radio that can send and receive fm signal. So, maybe you will be able to send music directly to your car radio without an accessory (but would kill accessory sales). Actually, it's interesting that last years iPod touches which had built-in support for Nike+ communicate over FM. So, there's already an FM receiver in the iPod Touch.
As for the OLED screen, rumors all over the place are that the next iPhone will have an OLED screen!
All rumors, but as many people have said, don't compare the specs of a not yet released product to a nearly one year old product. The new stuff is coming REALLY SOON! Yay!
Are you really that dense? HD video out nobody cares, fm tuner we bought this cause the radio sucks, xbox integration oh whoopee we can hope that it's only half as useless as that last xbox live update.
Only thing it has going for it is an OLED screen, Tweens who purchase these things don't care. As we've seen from other iPod killers OLED screen does not equal success.
Hey maybe mobile IE will be good.
SPARE ME.
You should probably be aware that all ipod touches and iphones (currently) have the broadcom chips with FM capabilities, Apple just doesn't implement it.
I love that it says, "Hello From Seattle" on the side of the Zune. It's like that Owl City song, "Hello Seattle".
Anyway, the thing looks like a piece of sex. My next MP3 player investment will probably be one of these babies*.
That doesn't mean I'm leaving iPod. God knows I have enough of the things; I need to diversify!
Anyway, the thing looks like a piece of sex. My next MP3 player investment will probably be one of these babies*.
That doesn't mean I'm leaving iPod. God knows I have enough of the things; I need to diversify!
Dealbreaker
This thing isn't even out yet and I already see one huge dealbreaker: the screen is too narrow. The iphone is one of the widest touch phones out there, because they need that extra real-estate for a decent soft keyboard. I would go so far as to say that the screen was designed entirely with the keyboard in mind. Using some simple math, I found that the zune HD screen is only about 1.6 inches wide, vs the iphone's near 2 inches. anyone who uses a thumb keyboard will know that those two sizes are night and day. 1.8-2 inches is about the lower bound of usability. 1.6 inches is not enough. I would not even attempt thumb type on a screen that narrow.
Yes they can still deliver a fine landscape keyboard, but having to rotate your device in order to type anything regardless of length would get frustrating very fast. plus, you loose one-handed navigation. after using a blackberry or iphone, it is almost impossible to go back to a sidekick or G1, because you loose that convenience of not having to rotate, twist or slide anything to get to your keyboard.
I personally think that the best mix is an iphonesque 2 inch wide, 31-39 button soft keyboard for casual use, and a super wide slide-out landscape keyboard for extended use. the zune HD has neither. So for me at least, no matter how good it is at everything else, I won't be able to consider it.
This thing isn't even out yet and I already see one huge dealbreaker: the screen is too narrow. The iphone is one of the widest touch phones out there, because they need that extra real-estate for a decent soft keyboard. I would go so far as to say that the screen was designed entirely with the keyboard in mind. Using some simple math, I found that the zune HD screen is only about 1.6 inches wide, vs the iphone's near 2 inches. anyone who uses a thumb keyboard will know that those two sizes are night and day. 1.8-2 inches is about the lower bound of usability. 1.6 inches is not enough. I would not even attempt thumb type on a screen that narrow.
Yes they can still deliver a fine landscape keyboard, but having to rotate your device in order to type anything regardless of length would get frustrating very fast. plus, you loose one-handed navigation. after using a blackberry or iphone, it is almost impossible to go back to a sidekick or G1, because you loose that convenience of not having to rotate, twist or slide anything to get to your keyboard.
I personally think that the best mix is an iphonesque 2 inch wide, 31-39 button soft keyboard for casual use, and a super wide slide-out landscape keyboard for extended use. the zune HD has neither. So for me at least, no matter how good it is at everything else, I won't be able to consider it.
Thats actually my biggest knock(so far), it looks to be running normal Zune software? I'm hoping thats just MS not releasing info yet, but if its true, thats bummer.(I mean, I'd never get one because I'm so Mac based, but it has some cool ideas/futures)
